


let me be your rhythm baby, and i'll let you be my rhyme

by ginnystar (ginny_star), redlightwarning



Series: you wove a stanza around my heart (and tattooed the lyrics across my soul) [2]
Category: Scorpion (TV 2014)
Genre: F/M, Family Feels, Gen, Mommy Paige knows what you are doing Ralph, band au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-27
Updated: 2016-03-27
Packaged: 2018-05-29 08:01:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 496
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6365863
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ginny_star/pseuds/ginnystar, https://archiveofourown.org/users/redlightwarning/pseuds/redlightwarning
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The strings unplucked, the beats we missed, the notes we skipped.</p>
<p>Is a song still a work of art when no-one is around to hear it?</p>
<p>aka: missing moments and scenes we didn't get to see from the band au.</p>
<p>Tags to be updated with relevant characters and pairings as we go along.</p>
            </blockquote>





	let me be your rhythm baby, and i'll let you be my rhyme

**Author's Note:**

> If you haven't read the first in this series, then we'd strongly suggest you do that as this might not make much sense without that - and who _doesn't_ want to read about our dysfunctional band of geniuses in an _actual_ music band? This is the first of, hopefully, many chapters in which we see Homeland Security from point of views that aren't Toby's, as well as missing moments and scenes that he hasn't been privy to. It's been about a year since we let _you wove a stanza around my heart (and tattooed the lyrics across my soul)_ loose out in the wild, and it still remains one of the greatest things we have accomplished. So, here's to you, Scorpion fans. Here's to the band au we can't let go of.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She thinks Homeland Security have a lot to answer for, not least of which is the fact that she can hear the strains of 'she called the fuzz (but chicks dig outlaws)' from his room at 3am from outside the door.
> 
> aka: a pre-band au ficlet in which Paige catches Ralph staying up late just to listen to his favourite band's music, and it's just too adorable but kiddo, it's bedtime.

_‘I’m letting my heartstrings ring out like the bells of Notre Dame, it doesn't make me weak you know that’s just who I am…’_

Like most things these days, it doesn't register with Paige at first, the music that decidedly shouldn't be filtering out from Ralph’s room. It’s late, she’s been pulling double shifts at The Scorpion and all she wants right now is to fall into bed and maybe never have to come up for air _ever again_.

Instead, she gives her son’s door a soft tap, and smiles a little at the startled shuffling she can hear. It’s three in the morning, he knows well enough he shouldn't be awake.

“Ralph? Honey, you know what the rules are,” she admonishes him as she opens the door, giving her son as foreboding a look as she can muster right now. It’s little more than a particularly arched and decidedly non-threatening brow, and even that feels strained by the late hour. _Three in the morning. Jesus._ “No electronics after nine, asleep by ten-thirty.”

“It’s ten in the morning in England,” Ralph offers. “You never specified that we had to adhere to one time zone.” Paige can’t help but snort, because _yeah okay_ , she walked right into that one.

“That was implied and you know it. Nuh-uh,” she laughs as Ralph stares at her with a hangdog look. “That look isn't working on me tonight mister. _Bedtime_.” To his credit, he gives up without a fight, and lets her pull the laptop from his fingers, tug the duvet up under his chin and brush a kiss over his forehead. “I love you, sweetie.”

Later, as she washes the grime and dirt of the night from her face, she catches herself humming along to the phantom song that's still playing in her head.

_‘I'd reverse a river for you if you asked around, turn back time to save a drowning town…’_

‘ _Your son focuses too much on absolutes_ ,’ had been an all-too common refrain from teachers, and one of the more tactful ways they had attempted to broach his difficulties at school with her - and when one teacher had sniffily told her that ' _Ralph simply doesn't engage_ ', she had cut the man down to size. She sighs, because this band, Homeland Security, has been the first thing he’s shown the slightest bit of interest in since Drew left for Portland, and Paige is loathe to take this away from him. Not when it means smiles over breakfast, enthusiastic discussions about keys and tonal shifts, and impromptu sing-offs in the car. It feels like something they can keep, something special to share just the two of them.

As she climbs into bed, she idly wonders if they'd be interested in playing at The Scorpion. Ralphy would love to meet them, she thinks sleepily, and the lead singer ( _Walter? Wally?_ ) is pretty cute.

She’ll speak to her boss tomorrow, she thinks before sleep claims her. It doesn't hurt to try.


End file.
